


the dyad

by solohux



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, Hurt/Comfort, Jedi Poe Dameron, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-22
Updated: 2020-12-22
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:27:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28249122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/solohux/pseuds/solohux
Summary: Ben Solo & Poe Dameron are padawans at Luke Skywalker's Jedi temple, training with each other and becoming very close friends. Through the Force, a dyad forms between them; a powerful and ancient bond. It makes things a little complicated.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Ben Solo, Poe Dameron/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Poe Dameron/Kylo Ren
Comments: 4
Kudos: 18
Collections: Darkpilot Holiday Exchange





	the dyad

**Author's Note:**

  * For [idrilhadhafang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/gifts).



> written as part of the Darkpilot Holiday Exchange for [@idrilhadhafang](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idrilhadhafang/pseuds/idrilhadhafang). Thank you for all you do for the Darkpilot fandom! I hope you enjoy your fic! Happy Holidays! ❤️

One power separated into two bodies; dyad.

It’s the most ancient of bonds between two people, joining them across the cosmos and keeping them joined wherever they go, able to feel each other and communicate with each other even at impossible distances. Enemies or friends, it’s a strong bond, but the dyad becomes an even stronger bond if those two people are lovers.

It’s past midnight for the padawans at Luke’s Jedi temple, where most of them are tucked up in their beds and sleeping but for two of them, the night is still young. Two boys, one eighteen and one twenty, raced across the grassy fields once the moon sat high above the temple’s tower, confident that no one knows of their nightly excursions away. The white glow of the Force tree is like a beacon in the distance for the dwellers at the temple, looking to it like a nightlight whenever they feel lost in the lonely hours of the night. For Ben Solo and Poe Dameron, it’s a place where they can be themselves.

“Sleepy?” Poe asks when Ben yawns, resting his head on his friend’s shoulder as they sit high up in one of the tree’s thick branches, concealed by flourishing green leaves and bright white flowers; the source of the tree’s mystical hue.

“A little,” Ben admits, giving Poe’s hand a squeeze. “Can’t you feel it?”

“I can but I never like to assume.” Poe bites his lip, resting his head atop Ben’s.

“It’s fine,” Ben replies, sitting up and twisting around on the branch, straddling it until he’s face-to-face with Poe, mirroring his position. “Read me. But just using the dyad. Don’t look into my mind. Look into _yours_ and tell me what I’m feeling.”

Poe sighs but complies with what Ben wants him to do, taking a deep and cleansing breath before reaching out with the Force to study himself and his own mind, finding Ben’s presence inside of him like a flickering flame.

“You’re tired,” Poe says. “Your eyes are beginning to strain from keeping them open. You’re thinking about going to bed. But you’re also thinking about your birthday breakfast in the morning.”

Ben huffs, laughing, before reaching to cup Poe’s cheeks in his hands, “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“Afraid not, Solo,” he chirps playfully. “Why? Is there anything you _want_ to hide from me?”

And in a _second,_ Ben’s happy expression falls from a beaming smile to a frowning shadow as though something plagues him, awakened by Poe’s words. He sits back, taking his hands from Poe’s face and folding them across his chest as though protecting his heart. Around them, the leaves of the Force tree rustle despite there being no wind this night.

“Ben?” Poe leans in, staring worriedly at his companion whilst trying to study him through the Force, finding that their dyad bond is eerily quiet. “Talk to me. Please.”

Ben doesn’t even _look_ at him, choosing to keep on looking down instead. Poe doesn’t blame him; what Poe can’t read from their dyad bond, he reads from Ben’s dark, emotional eyes. “Really. It’s nothing.”

“Don’t do this,” Poe insists, shuffling closer to his friend until their knees touch. The Force is unsettled around them. “Don’t shut me out. I can help.”

“You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” Ben _finally_ looks up, and Poe sees tears forming in his eyes. “It’s about you.”

Poe reels. “Me? What have _I_ done?”

“Nothing,” Ben pulls away. “I told you it was nothing.”

Poe is left speechless as Ben moves suddenly, hopping down from the higher branches of the Force tree until his boots hit the ground and he begins to walk away, his hands shoved in his pockets and his head hanging low between his shoulders in a tell-tale Organa-Solo sulk. From the safety and height of the tree, Poe studies his friend’s Force aura for a moment before following suit, jumping down from the highest branch to the ground with an _oomph_ sound and a throb of pain through his ankles but he shakes it off to run after Ben.

“Hey,” he skids and stops in front of Ben, putting his hands on his chest to halt him. “You can’t say something like _that_ and then leave me.”

“I can, and I did.”

“Well, you shouldn’t. This bond,” Poe points to his temple and then to his heart, keeping his finger there whilst his gaze burrows into Ben’s skull, “Is something important. We’re the _same,_ me and you. But even without it, Ben, I’d still be here for you. Even without the Force, we’d still be connected. Can’t you feel that?”

“I…I can.”

“Then talk to me,” Poe says. “I can feel your pain but you won’t let me in.”

Ben hesitates; Poe can feel it like a cold sweat on his own skin. He wants to shiver and shake it off but he leaves his full concentration on his trembling friend.

“There’s a darkness,” Ben exhales. “It’s in my head sometimes. In my heart. It…talks to me. Tells me things.”

Only when Poe feels his skin prickle does he realise that he is in a cold sweat now, chilled by Ben’s words.

“About my power. About our bond. About _you._ Poe, I…”

He looks down again, shaking his head as though terrified to say what he wants to say.

“It’s the dark side,” Poe says, unbelievingly. Even the mention of the shadows that are said to tempt even the _best_ Jedi from their path sends shivers across his skin. “It has to be. It’s just trying to scare you into falling. But you won’t, Ben. You’re _good._ I know you are.”

But they’re interrupted before Ben can reply. When the rain begins to fall in drizzling waves, the two boys seek shelter underneath the Force tree, running back to it and seeking to be kept dry by its thick foliage. The flowers on it are still glowing, still seemingly thrumming with beauty. The two boys gather their breaths for a moment, sharing a glance when neither of them speak first.

“Who talks first? Do you talk first?” Poe smirks. “Or do I talk first?”

Ben doesn’t even crack a smile, shrugging in response. Above them, the leaves rustle, and Poe suddenly feels like there’s an invisible hand on his back, pushing him closer to his bondmate.

“Come on, Ben,” Poe runs his hands through his damp hair, tucking his padawan braid behind his ear. “It’s _me._ I can _feel_ your conflict. Whatever it is, it’s okay. I promise.”

“I…love you,” Ben says softly, so quietly that Poe _almost_ doesn’t hear him speak it but those three words echo so loudly throughout their dyad bond that it reverberates into Poe’s soul.

Poe blinks, staring back at his friend with palpable shock. “Ben…I…”

“No,” Ben takes hold of Poe’s hands, squeezing tightly. “Please don’t say it back. You’d be saying it out of _pity._ And I don’t want that. I don’t want to force you. But I’ve got _feelings_ for you, Poe. Jedi aren’t meant to have attachments like this.”

“Well, Luke hasn’t _forbidden_ them.”

“He hasn’t taught us to _welcome_ romantic love into our lives,” Ben argues, sighing loudly and leaning back against the thick, silvery-coloured trunk of the tree. “It’s the dark side. It’s _passion._ It’s wrong.”

“Is that what the voice in your head tells you?” Poe suppresses a shiver, holding back his worry like a dam against a violent reservoir trying to escape.

Ben takes a deep breath, “He calls himself Snoke. He tells me that we’re special, Poe, because we’re a dyad. He knows how I feel about you, he says it’s going to destroy us if I don’t do as he says and go to him—”

“You’re not going _anywhere,_ ” Poe says sternly, shaking his head. “And _definitely_ not without me.”

“But I’ve _seen_ things, Poe. Things that Snoke has shown me. They’re visions of the future. I don’t know what they mean.”

“They might not be visions,” Poe says, closing the gap between them and reaching to wind Ben’s long padawan braid around his fingers. “They might just be dreams. Hopes and fears. The dark side might be taunting you. Snoke might be lying.”

“I won’t lose you.”

The desperation in Ben’s voice cuts Poe deep, hurting even more so when Ben takes one of Poe’s hands in both of his and holds it as though he’s precious. Their bond is flooded with a concoction of emotions, all swelling together to make a fierce mix of protectiveness radiating from Ben’s side of their dyad.

“You could never,” Poe says softly. “We’re forever, me and you. Whatever this is, we’ll face it together, Ben. I…I love you too.”

Poe _feels_ what Ben is about to do before he even _moves._ His mind floods with _nothing_ but love and admiration, feelings of safety and of hope. Ben is thinking about how much he loves Poe for his courage and his sense of _light_ in the face of unknown shadows _,_ how he calms and centres Ben like _no one else_ in the galaxy can, he’s thinking—

He’s thinking about how soft Poe’s lips are against his own. Their first kiss.

The rain begins to fall harder around them, pattering down on the leaves of the great Force tree but not a single drop of rain hits the love-struck duo; nothing could break them apart now, or _ever._

Far across the galaxy, Snoke gets a cold shiver across his wrinkled, scarred skin. He growls, clenching his fists in anger. His plan has already failed; the dyad will not be broken. 

**Author's Note:**

> I had to seriously stop myself from going overboard with this idea and writing a tonne because it was such a good prompt! I'd love to expand more on this AU if I can find the time!
> 
> So my idea for this was that Snoke—i.e. the darkness inside of Ben’s mind—seeks to exploit the power of Ben’s bond with Poe and seduce him to the dark side to get to it. But because of Ben’s strong relationship with Poe, he opens up to him about his feelings and seeks help from Luke. Together, they rid Snoke from Ben’s mind before he’s able to ‘take hold’ and turn him.)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Find me on tumblr [@solohux](http://solohux.tumblr.com/) ❤️


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